Wireless communication systems are an important part of life in the 21st century. Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Consumers have become dependent upon wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and the like, demanding reliable service, expanded areas of coverage, and increased functionality.
A wireless communication system may simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals or user devices. Each terminal may communicate with one or more access points via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the access points to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the access points.
Wireless communication systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. Generally, access points assign various resources to individual terminals supported by the access point.
Signal detection and timing detection are important tasks for wireless communication systems. Without accurate signal and timing detection algorithms, it may be difficult to reliably receive data that is transmitted. As mentioned above, the present disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for signal and timing detection in wireless communication systems.